What drives the allocation of motorways? Evidence from Portugal's fast-expanding network

This study investigates the factors that influenced the allocation of motorways across municipalities in mainland Portugal. Our analysis, based on Poisson Pseudo-maximum Likelihood models, suggests that population size and market potential in 1981 are important determinants of motorway density in 2020. Physical and geographical variables also help explain the spatial distribution of motorway investment, as terrain ruggedness and distance to the coast are negatively associated with motorway density. In addition, we consider the influence of the proximity to historical and pre-existing transport networks on the allocation of motorways; we find that municipalities that are closer to 1800's itineraries, the main roads of the 1945's National Road Plan, and 1981's train stations appear to have higher motorway densities in 2020, but this effect is concentrated in the vast and sparsely populated area of the country that excludes what we term the high-density Portuguese “blue banana”. Interestingly, it is also only in this low-density region that partisan alignment between the municipal and the national levels of government appears to affect the allocation of transport investment, which suggests that motorways are more of a political asset in more remote or less urbanised areas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

What drives the allocation of motorways? Evidence from Portugal’s fast-expanding network

This study investigates the factors that influenced the allocation of motorways across municipalities in mainland Portugal over the period from 1981 to 2011. Our analysis, based on Poisson Pseudo-maximum Likelihood models, suggests that population size and market potential in 1981 are important determinants of motorway density in 2011. Likewise, physical and geographical variables also help explain the spatial distribution of motorway investment, as terrain ruggedness, distance to the coast, and distance to the border with Spain are negatively associated with motorway density. In addition, we consider the influence of the proximity to historical and pre-existing transport networks on the allocation of motorways; we find that municipalities that are closer to the 1800’s itineraries, the main roads of the 1945’s National Road Plan, and 1981’s train stations appear to have higher motorway densities in 2011, but this effect is concentrated in the vast and sparsely populated area of the country that excludes what we term the highdensity Portuguese “blue banana”. Interestingly, it is also only in this low-density region that partisan alignment between the municipal and the national levels of government appears to affect the allocation of transport investment, which suggests that motorways are more of a political asset in more remote or less urbanised areas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Motorways, urban growth, and suburbanisation : evidence from three decades of motorway construction in Portugal

Portugal moved from having less than 200 km of motorways before joining the European Union in 1986 to having the fifth highest motorway density relative to population in the Union in 2017. This paper studies the relationship between the expansion of the Portuguese motorway network between 1981 and 2011 and the growth of population and employment in the 275 mainland municipalities of the country. We address the endogeneity of the geography of motorways using instrumental variables based on historical transport networks from 1800 and 1945. Our findings suggest that, on average, new motorways caused large increases in both population and employment. In line with existing evidence for other countries, we find that motorways contributed to suburbanisation, as the impact of motorways on population growth (but not on employment growth) is particularly strong in suburban municipalities. In addition, motorways also appear to have influenced urban agglomeration dynamics, as their effect on population growth depends positively on the municipality’s population size in 1970.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Does road accessibility to cities support rural population growth? Evidence for Portugal for the 1991-2011 period

Transport investment is frequently advocated as having the double virtue of achieving both economic growth and territorial cohesion. The idea is that improving the accessibility of lagging regions to cities, increases the attractiveness of those regions for people and businesses. However, transport is only one of the factors affecting local development and there is no consensus on its net effect on population growth. The large scale of public funding allocated to motorway investment since the country joined the European Union in 1986 makes Portugal an ideal case study to examine the potential effect of improved road accessibility on the development of lagging rural areas. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between rural population change and road accessibility to the urban hierarchy (i.e. cities of different sizes) between 1991 and 2011. Regression analyses show that rural population growth is negatively associated with road distance and road travel time to the urban hierarchy, notably to medium-sized cities (i.e. 20,000-99,999 inhabitants). This suggests that medium-size cities play an important role in supporting population growth in their rural hinterlands. Robustness tests confirmed the validity of these findings. There is no evidence of nonlinearities in the magnitude of the effect between accessible and remote rural areas, which may be partially related to the relatively small size of the country.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Safe use of ozone gas in enamel adhesion

Purpose: Evaluate the shear bond strength of a self-etching system to enamel pretreated with ozone and its type of fracture. Matherial and methods: Thirty sound bovine incisors were bisected and polished just before the application of the adhesive system. The adhesion area was limited to a 3-mm diameter. The specimens were randomly assigned to the experimental groups (n = 15) and composite resin cylinders were added to the tested surfaces, after the application of the adhesive according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Group G1 (AdheSE® with ozone) was previously prepared with ozone gas from the HealOzone unit (Kavo®) for 20 s, groups G2 (AdheSE®) was used as control. The specimens were stored in distilled water for 24 h at 37 ◦C with 100% humidity, before being thermocycled. The type of fracture was analyzed under scanning electronic microscope and the data were submitted to Shapiro–Wilk, Student’s t-test and Chi-squared statistical analyses. Results: The mean bond strengths were G1: 15.0 MPa (77.8% of adhesive fractures between enamel and adhesive) and G2: 13.1 MPa (36.4% of adhesive fractures between enamel and adhesive). Conclusion: The shear bond strength of a self-etching system was not influenced by the previous application of ozone gas.Objectivo: Avaliar as forças de resistência adesiva de um sistema adesivo auto-condicionador no esmalte pré-tratado com ozono e o tipo de fractura. Material e métodos: Trinta incisivos hígidos de origem bovina foram seccionados de forma a separar a coroa da raiz e polidos antes da colocação do sistema adesivo. A área de adesão foi limitada a 3 mm de diâmetro. Os espécimes foram aleatoriamente divididos (n = 15) e cilindros de resina composta foram adicionados às superfícies de teste após cada sistema adesivo ter sido aplicado de acordo com as instruções do fabricante. O grupo G1 (AdheSE® com ozono) foi condicionado com gás de ozono gerado pelo aparelho HealOzone (Kavo®),durante 20 segundos, G2 (AdheSE®) funcionou como controlo. Os espécimes foram mantidos em água destilada durante 24 horas numa estufa a 37 ◦C com 100% de humidade, antes da termociclagem. O tipo de fractura analisado ao MEV e os dados submetidos à análise estatística Shapiro–Wilk, Student’s t-test e Chi-squared. Resultados: As médias de resistência adesiva foram: G1:15,0 MPa (77,8% de fracturas adesivas entre o esmalte e o adesivo) e G4: 13,1 MPa (36,4% de fracturas adesivas entre o esmalte e o adesivo). Conclusão: Os valores de resistência adesiva do sistema adesivo auto-condicionador não foram influenciados pela aplicação prévia de gás de ozono.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Generation and validation of genetic markers for the selection of carioca dry bean genotypes with the slow-darkening seed coat trait

Slow darkening (SD) is a trait that helps to maintain a brighter seed coat appearance in certain market classes of dry beans. The aim of this study was to generate new fluorescence-based markers and validate previously identified microsatellite markers for linkage to the SD trait in lines of the carioca market class. Four segregating populations were generated by Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, from crosses between the SD cultivar BRSMG Madrepe´rola and the regular-darkening cultivars BRS Estilo, BRS Cometa, BRS Nota´vel and BRS Sublime. These populations were screened with the simple-sequence markers Pvsd- 1158 and PVM02TC116 and with a TaqManTM marker designed for the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) PvbHLHp12804. A KASP marker was also designed for the PvbHLHp12804 marker for testing on advanced carioca lines developed by the University of Saskatchewan. In the carioca lines developed by Embrapa, PVM02TC116 proved unsuitable for marker-assisted selection (MAS). Both the Pvsd-1158 and PvbHLHp12804 markers were found to be tightly linked to the gene responsible for the SD trait, with genetic distances calculated at 2.8 cM for Pvsd-1158 and 2.0 and 3.1 cM for PvbbHLHp12804, respectively. These markers presented more than 97% of selection efficiency. The genotypic scoring using the PvbHLHp12804 KASP marker was perfectly correlated with the phenotype in all lines of the University of Saskatchewan. The results of this study validates the use of Pvsd-1158 as a gel-based marker for SD in carioca beans. The new fluorescence-based SNP PvbHLHp12804 markers exhibited very tight linkage to SD in carioca and pinto bean lines. These markers will be ideal for MAS for the SD trait in these market classes

Contrasting Phenotypic Variability of Life-History Traits of Two Feral Populations of Macrolophus pygmaeus (Hemiptera: Miridae) under Two Alternative Diets

Tuta absoluta is a major pest attacking tomato crops. This invasive species emerged in Europe (Spain) in 2006, and 3 years later it spread to Portugal. In 2009/2010, it was recorded for the first time in the Azores archipelago. Macrolophus pygmaeus is a predator widely used as biological control agent against the tomato leaf miner. This study contrasted the life-history traits and population growth parameters of two feral populations of M. pygmaeus, one from Portugal mainland and one from the Azores archipelago. The predators were tested on single prey diet, either of Ephestia kuehniella eggs, a factitious prey used for mass rearing of mirids, or T. absoluta eggs. We predicted that populations would express differences in its phenotypic characteristics, with the Azorean population displaying low performance due to likely low genetic diversity, as expected for insular populations. Our results revealed the inexistence of phenotypic differences in several life history traits, such as immature developmental time, female longevity, males’ body weight and sex ratio. Contrary to our predictions, traits with direct impact on fitness, such as lifetime fertility (95.78 ± 14.23 vs. 61.38 ± 13.52 nymphs), explain better performances for the population of the Azores. Azorean M. pygmaeus females were larger, matured earlier and reproduced at a higher rate for longer periods, than mainland females. Therefore, population growth parameters show a positive advantage for the population of the Azores, fed on T. absoluta (time required for doubling the population Azores, Ek: 8.42 ± 0.50, Ta: 5.76 ± 0.31 and mainland, Ek: 10.88 ± 1.94, Ta: 12.07 ± 3.15). Biological performance of M. pygmaeus was similar when fed with T. absoluta or E. kuehniella that could be beneficial both to optimize mass production of the predator and biological control of the pest. Our results are discussed as well in a fundamental perspective, seeking if differences in biological performance can be explained by lower genetic diversity driven by geographic isolation.FUNDING: This study was financed by FEDER in 85% and by Azorean Public funds by 15% through Operational Program Azores 2020, under the project ECO2–TUTA (ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000081). L.O. was funded by Portuguese national funds FCT under the project UIDP/05292/2020 and UIDB/05292/2020. E.F. was funded by Portuguese national funds FCT Umbert-ECO PTDC/ASPPLA/29110/2017. J.C.F. and E.F. received backing from Forest Research Centre (CEF) and Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF) research center, respectively, research units funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal (UIDB/00239/2020 and UIDB/04129/2020, respectively), and both researchers from the Laboratory for Sustainable Land Use and Ecosystem Services–TERRA (LA/P/0092/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ictiose Arlequim: Caso Clínico

Harlequin ichthyosis is a rare autosomal recessive congenital disease in which neonates present generalized hyperkeratotic plaques and deep fissures, ectropion, eclabium, malformation of the auricular pavilion and typical facies. Although several complications related to the skin restriction may occur, support in intensive care and early introduction of systemic retinoids, such as acitretin, have significantly contributed to patients' survival and improved prognosis. The purpose of this report is to present a rare case of harlequin ichthyosis and to discuss strategies for early diagnosis and first supportive care.Ictiose arlequim é uma doença congênita autossómica recessiva rara, na qual os recém-nascidos apresentam placas de hiperqueratose generalizadas e fissuras profundas, ectrópio, eclábio, malformação do pavilhão auricular e fácies típicas. Embora várias complicações relacionadas à restrição cutânea possam ocorrer, o suporte em terapia intensiva e a introdução precoce de retinóides sistémicos, como a acitretina, têm contribuído significativamente para a melhoria da sobrevida e do prognóstico dos doentes. O objetivo deste relato é apresentar um raro caso de ictiose arlequim e discutir estratégias para o diagnóstico precoce e o primeiro tratamento de suporte

Healing activity induced by glucose/mannose lectins in mice

This work aimed the use of glucose/mannose lectins (Cramoll, EmaL and Con A) in the treatment of cutaneous wounds in mice.Surgical wounds were treated daily with the lectins and parameters such as edema, hyperemia, scab, granulation and scar tissues as well as contraction of wounds were analyzed. The lectin wounds showed higher edema and arrival of more polimorphonuclear cells at the site of lesions when compared with control group (0.15 M NaCl). Granulation tissue and collagen fiber deposition were observed with higher intensity in all lectin treated wounds promoting excellent closing and repair of lesions in less time than other groups. Results showed that Cramoll was more effective in the repair of experimental lesions in mice;however, the glucose/mannose lectins can be used as future cicatricial compounds